Karma
by Kirari13
Summary: Light has just succeeded in wiping L off of the face of the Earth. It's a time for celebration among Kira supporters, but a miracle happens. Light actually feels remorseful. In the midst of this, L returns to Earth. And there are only a few ways back.
1. His Death and Return

**I thought that it was about time to write a new story, so here it is. Don't worry; I'm still working on 'The Conversion'. I was just having a little writers' block. And what do we do when we're already suffering? That's right, we make ourselves suffer more. Oh, joy. Anyway, we'll try this thing out and see where it takes us. I had the idea for this story yesterday when I was brainstorming ideas for chapter seven of 'The Conversion.' I was thinking of the whole concept of Death Note, dying, and the afterlife (if there is one). And I thought, 'What if L's ghost came back for revenge?' Well, that might be interesting. **

**Disclaimer: I do not, and will probably never own Death Note. Sad, isn't it? **

**One more thing I forgot to mention. This story is told from Light's point of view…For now. It might switch later. But we'll find out when we get there, won't we? **

"Watari?!" Ryuzaki screamed at the monitor.

Just as planned. Everything was falling into place.

"I had a feeling this might happen. Everyone, I want you to-"

He was unable to finish his sentence.

"Ryuzaki, what's wrong?" Matsuda asked in concern.

_Can't you see he's dying, Matsuda? You really are slow. But not just you… Ryuzaki, too... Ryuzaki, and everyone else in this room. _

All of the fools gasped as he suddenly fell out of his chair.

"Ryuzaki!" They all exclaimed.

Knowing that I still had a role to play, I caught Ryuzaki just as he was about to hit the floor.

I stared at the blank expression he had on his face. But then again, he never showed his true feelings to anyone. He always looked the same, talked the same, and acted the same way. He was a formidable opponent, but I was one step ahead. I knew what he was thinking… At least I thought I did.

But now I thought I could make out a hint of distress crossing his features.

He almost looked scared…Which was not like him at all.

I gazed in wonderment as shouting went on around me.

_Could he be trying to tell me something? Was this all a mistake? Was I actually bullying a poor child who was forced and had no way out? _

Thoughts of caring for someone else crossed my mind. I thought things I had never even comprehended before.

All of the sudden, I didn't want it to end like this. I regretted what was about to happen. I realized what I had been doing all along was wrong.

And for the first time, I shed tears. Actual tears. Not what I had learned to do for public appearances.

A few of my tears dripped onto his cheeks.

He looked up at me and stretched out a hand to wipe my tears away.

I thanked him by rubbing his hand against my face.

I didn't care if others were looking. I wanted this moment to go on forever.

But as his hand brushed my cheek, it felt cold.

I looked back at him, and I could tell he was no longer among the living.

His eyes looked glassy and empty, almost as if there was never a soul in them to begin with.

I stared blankly, unable to pull myself away from that look.

That look that said, 'You know it's all your fault.'

--

"It isn't your fault, Light." My father patted me on the back gently.

"I know." I responded weakly.

In truth, I thought the opposite.

It was hard to deny, seeing as the truth was staring me in the face.

We were at Ryuzaki's funeral.

The setting sun cast an orange glow across the sky, and the glow reflected the buildings and the people.

'A beautiful day,' my foot.

It wasn't beautiful at all.

Especially when the one person that I truly cared about was taking a dirt nap about six feet below me.

Perhaps now some people know why I shot them a death glare when they mentioned how nice the weather was today.

It was a private funeral, so only Ryuzaki's closest friends (or just the people he had spent many hours with recently; the Japanese Task Force) were allowed to attend.

I looked at the tomb stone next to Ryuzaki's.

Watari was buried right beside him.

I felt jealousy surge through me.

It's amazing how much you miss people once they're gone.

My father once again patted me on the back and tried to comfort me.

I was so consumed in my thoughts that I didn't notice at first.

"We'll all miss him."

I didn't answer him. I just nodded my head slightly.

There was a silence.

"I'll be waiting in the car, so just come when you're ready."

"No…I won't be home for a while. I'll take a bus. You can go on ahead."

My father seemed to understand, because he left me alone after that.

I knelt down on the earth above where Ryuzaki was resting in peace.

If I could, I wanted to disturb that peace.

I wanted him back.

I would go crazy other wise.

It seemed that my insanity had already begun, because I started to talk to his grave. Hoping that maybe he would hear me and come back into my arms.

"Ryuzaki, please wake up. I'll go mad without you here. I'm so sorry for killing you. Please, please forgive me."

I began to cry again. Just like the tears I shed before, these tears were genuine.

I hoped to God that my feelings would get through to Ryuzaki…even if he _was_ on the other side.

**Meanwhile, in the afterlife…**

"I do hate to see the poor boy suffer like that." L said to Watari.

"But sir, he killed both of us." Watari said in what he thought was a convincing tone.

"Perhaps, but he looks so desperate. Maybe I should go back." L said.

"...Whatever you say, sir. Just promise me that you'll come back." Watari responded.

"I'll try." L said. "But then again, it's not like I have any where else to go." L smiled as he spoke.

Watari smiled back.

"Very good, sir."

L jumped into the air and dissolved into it.

"I promise." He said once more.

"I'll hold you to it." Watari said once L had dissolved completely.

**Back at L's grave…**

My crying continued for several minutes.

After a while I realized that my cries wouldn't do anything more than make my eyes and throat sore, so I stopped.

I stood up and started to walk away.

"Whoa, hold on a minute. I thought you said you would go crazy without me."

I turned back towards Ryuzaki's grave.

There he was, floating directly in front of me.

I couldn't believe he was actually there, so I assumed I was seeing things.

"You aren't seeing things. I'm actually here." Ryuzaki said, smiling at me.

I shook my head.

"So-so you heard me, then?" I asked him, embarrassed that he had.

"Are you kidding? All of heaven heard you, with you whining like that." Ryuzaki teased.

"Well, then. You know I have feelings for you, too?" I asked him, thinking he already knew the answer.

"You have feelings for me?" L asked, completely oblivious to what I was saying.

I smacked myself in the face.

This was going to take some time to explain.

"Let's go." I said, striding away from him.

"Where?" He asked.

"Home." I responded.

**So, what do you people think? It's weird because I'm only on chapter one and I've still started with a plot twist. This story will be relatively short, and will not have any yaoi (oh, darn), even though it's shonen-ai. I have a straightforward plot, other than some twists here and there, and the Wammy boys will not be included. Sorry about that. But this was my first attempt at sci-fi, so tell me what you think. Please review!**


	2. When You're Gone

**There are just a few things about this chapter that I'd like to mention before we get going. This chapter is entirely told from either Light or L's point of view. NEVER from the narrator's perspective. **

**Thank you to the ONE person who reviewed the chapter before this. **_**Your **_**support is greatly appreciated… And it's not as if I didn't get any buzz on that chapter. I had people adding it to their alerts or favorite stories' lists. If there are people that read a story, is it so hard to review it too? Anyhow, it isn't that important, so I won't complain anymore. **

**This chapter holds a spoiler for Watari's real name, so if you don't know what it is, you're about to find out… Also, starting now, this story is going to get a little bloodier.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own squat.**

(From Light's Point of View)

I motioned for Ryuzaki to follow me, and he did as I instructed.

At least, I thought he did.

I heard no verbal confirmation that he was tailing me, but I felt a cool breeze brushing against my back, so I believed he was there.

I never turned back; however, because I swore to myself I wouldn't look behind.

Not until we got home.

--

(Switching to L's Point of View)

I saw him motion to me, and I began to float towards him.

After floating forward for a moment, I could no longer move.

I was frozen in my spot, numb to the world around me.

I tried calling out, but my voice was hoarse and weak. I doubt he even heard me at all.

A multitude of light enveloped me and lifted me skyward.

I tried to fight the pull and return to the Earth's surface when I heard a voice say, "Just relax. You'll be home soon enough."

I cried then.

It wasn't home to me unless I was with Light.

Teasing him, making him embarrassed, watching his reactions, I missed them all.

And now I was going to get in trouble with the guy upstairs for leaving the nest without permission.

--

(Light's POV)

I arrived at the front door to my house, and gazed up at it.

Not much, I suppose.

I was…normal? Yes, that's the word I'm looking for.

It was a normal house in a normal neighborhood inhabited by a mostly normal family.

I was the only exception.

Kira... A killer.

Now that I thought back to when I had first picked up the Death Note, and how warped my sense of justice was, I couldn't help but laugh at myself.

Who would ever actually try to create a 'perfect world?'

There is no such thing and never will be.

_I wish I had never put my hands onto the infernal thing._

I blinked then.

_Wait, no...That's a lie. If I had never picked up the Death Note, then I would never have been able to have met Ryuzaki. _

The only person I ever had any intimate feelings for.

_...My one true love._

I blushed and shook my head.

I couldn't just keep thinking these things.

I had to say them aloud. To the one I loved, and perhaps always did love, but realized too late.

I turned to face him at last, but to my surprise, he wasn't there.

_Did he leave? Did he return to heaven?_

And then I thought something that made anger surge throughout my entire being.

_Is he with someone else?_

"That's what it is, isn't it?!" I shouted to the skies.

"You got bored of me and left me for someone else! Preferably someone dead, I suppose! Is that what you like?! You like dead people?! Maybe I should kill myself, then! Will that make you happy?!"

I stood silently as my cries were absorbed by the surrounding buildings and forestation.

I looked down at the ground and clenched my fists in fury. And then they relaxed.

I hid my face in the collar of my jacket and opened the door to my home.

I ignored my family who were busy asking about my well-being.

I ran upstairs to my room, and slammed the door behind me.

I leaned against the door, breathing heavily.

For a reason unbeknownst to me, I found it difficult to breathe.

I felt miserable and worthless, as if no one wanted me.

I assumed this was how Matsuda usually felt.

And then, my feet kind of acted on their own. I didn't tell them to support me and make me stand. They just sort of did it by themselves.

Then I found myself walking over to my desk.

I sat down in the chair and reached for a pair of scissors.

I watched in horror at what my hands were doing, although my face probably had no expression visible at the time.

It was as if I was possessed by someone else...Someone no longer alive.

_Could this be Ryuzaki's spirit coming back for revenge?_ I thought.

_Well, if it is, I will let him do as he wishes. I deserve it. _

One of my hands held onto the scissors while the other pried the blades apart.

I laid one hand flat on the desktop and held the other containing the scissors high above my head.

Without blinking or looking away, I stabbed myself.

Blood erupted from the wound and only spurted out more as the scissors were dug deeper.

I didn't care, however.

I no longer felt anything.

Pain did not exist.

If Ryuzaki wasn't in my life, then everything would be pointless.

--

(L's POV)

"At long last, you have returned!" A loud voice boomed, clear as could be.

I squinted up into the clouds, trying to find who had spoken.

It was pointless, though. I knew very well who had spoken. His name is three letters long and is 'dog' spelled backwards.

Yep, that's God for you.

He never shows his face to anyone, though. Strangely just like me before I started working on the "Light Yagami is Guilty"-Wait, I meant the Kira Case.

He likes to speak through the clouds, to give people a mystical feeling.

Unfortunately, that kind of mystical bullshit doesn't work on me.

I started up with him right away. He cut my visit to the Semi-green planet short, so you better believe I was pissed off.

"Why did you bring me back, Kami-san?! I was having fun, but I was going to come home. I promise you that much. You can even ask Quillish. I told him myself."

I finished this restrained outburst by panting slightly.

There was a long silence, which only made my rage grow.

"You were thinking about staying, L. That's why I brought you back."

I felt so angry at the moment that if Misa Amane was around, I would have trouble trying not to snap her neck in two.

There was another long silence.

During which I flew around in circles to ease my nerves. I guess you could say it was an angels' way of pacing.

But then I stopped and sniffed the air around me.

It smelled like the shampoo Light would always use in his hair. It smelled like strawberries. It was-and I'm being entirely serious here-heavenly.

"I sense the resentment you have towards me, so I'll let you stay on Earth for a little while longer."

Noticing that my overseer was being kind, I smiled at where I assumed the voice was coming from.

"However, you will have to find your own way back here."

My smile faded at that moment.

"What-what do you mean, Kami-san?! I only have one way back! And that's if you beam me back up! How would I do it by myself?!"

I winced when I noticed the once peacefully white clouds were turning grey. That could only mean trouble.

"You're the one who wants to stay. You figure it out." He countered.

I looked down sadly. If this was heaven, I think I'd prefer Hell.

"Oh, fine. Take this." He said.

A halo was flung near my feet.

I stared at it uncomprehendingly.

"How would that help me at all?" I asked the invisible God hiding somewhere in the vicinity of clouds surrounding me.

"You'll find out soon. Once you have done what you need to do on Earth, the halo will turn green. When that happens, put it on your head, and you will be instantly transported here."

"But that could take...years." I said to him, trying to persuade him that this was more of a challenge than something helpful.

"Then you'll have plenty of time to do as you wish. But be warned, L. You are a spirit. You do not belong among the world of the living."

I said nothing. There was nothing I _could_ say. He had gotten me deep in thought, but I wasn't about to let him win.

"Just transport me to wherever Light Yagami is currently. He needs some guidance."

"You bet he does." The clouds agreed.

In a moment, I found myself back under the pull of gravity (not that I could feel it), on Earth's surface.

I thought I had felt it before, though.

How strange.

I looked around to find myself in a hospital room setting.

And there on the patient's bed lay an injured boy, just about Light's age.

His entire arm was wrapped in bandages, although it seemed only his hand was bleeding.

I stared at him in horror.

Could this really be the man who had once challenged the greatest detective in the world, and had actually beaten him as well?

"Light..." I said quietly.

His eyes opened so slowly that I thought he might have been a zombie.

His pupils appeared absent from his gaze, so it seemed he might have gone blind.

"What have you done?" I asked him.

**If you have any questions about this chapter, feel free to contact me or review. I will respond either way, although the second option would be more helpful... Thanks for reading!**


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